Inside your body there is an amazing protection mechanism called the immune system. It is designed to defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that would love to invade your body. To understand the power of the immune system, all that you have to do is look at what happens to anything once it dies. That sounds gross, but it does show you something very important about your immune system.
When something dies, its immune system (along with everything else) shuts down. In a matter of hours, the body is invaded by all sorts of bacteria, microbes, parasites... None of these things are able to get in when your immune system is working, but the moment your immune system stops the door is wide open. Once you die it only takes a few weeks for these organisms to completely dismantle your body and carry it away, until all that's left is a skeleton. Obviously your immune system is doing something amazing to keep all of that dismantling from happening when you are alive.
The immune system is complex, intricate and interesting. And there are at least two good reasons for you to know more about it. First, it is just plain fascinating to understand where things like fevers, hives, inflammation, etc., come from when they happen inside your own body. You also hear a lot about the immune system in the news as new parts of it are understood and new drugs come on the market -- knowing about the immune system makes these news stories understandable. In this article, we will take a look at how your immune system works so that you can understand what it is doing for you each day, as well as what it is not.
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How Your Immune System Works - HowStuffWorks
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- Researchers Discover mRNA Vaccines Leave Lasting Mark on the Immune System - SciTechDaily - April 5th, 2025
- Scientific Journeys: Uncovering how dioxins affect the immune system - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov) - April 5th, 2025
- Oligodendroglial precursor cells modulate immune response and early demyelination in a murine model of multiple sclerosis - Science | AAAS - April 5th, 2025
- Measles can ravage the immune system and brain, causing long-term damage a virologist explains - The Conversation - April 5th, 2025
- Microscopic Instigators - The University of New Mexico - April 5th, 2025
- Changes in the immune index before and after surgery in urinary malignancy patients with AIDS - Nature - April 5th, 2025
- Non-immune targeting of CXCR3 compromises mitochondrial function and suppresses tumor growth in glioblastoma - Nature - April 5th, 2025
- 8 Supplements That Will Boost Your Immune System - Verywell Health - April 5th, 2025
- Improving immunotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: learning from patients and preclinical models - Nature - April 5th, 2025
- Redefining the immune landscape of hepatitis A virus infection - Nature - April 5th, 2025
- What Happens to Your Immune Health When You Take Vitamin C and Zinc Together? - Verywell Health - April 5th, 2025
- Diet Has A Major Impact On The Immune System - WorldHealth.net - April 5th, 2025
- Top 7 ways to boost your immune system - The Indian Express - April 5th, 2025
- Kinetics of pIgR and IgM immune responses in snakehead ( Channa argus ) to inactivated Aeromonas hydrophila via immersion and intraperitoneal... - April 5th, 2025
- What Is Man Flu? - Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials - April 5th, 2025
- Dynamics of T cell subpopulations and plasma cytokines during the first year of antineoplastic therapy in patients with breast cancer: the BEGYN-1... - April 5th, 2025
- Publication in npj Vaccines Reports Cross-reactive and Long-Lasting Immune Responses for self-amplifying mRNA (samRNA) COVID-19 Vaccine Booster... - April 5th, 2025
- 9 Supplements, Tonics, and Oils to Boost Immune Health - W Magazine - April 5th, 2025
- Preoperative pan-immuno-inflammatory values and albumin-to-globulin ratio predict the prognosis of stage IIII colorectal cancer - Nature - April 5th, 2025
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- Long COVID: women at greater risk compared to men could immune system differences be the cause? - The Conversation - February 7th, 2025
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- How the immune system influences pancreatic cancer: New interactions provide therapeutic insights - Medical Xpress - February 7th, 2025
- Mitochondrias Secret Power Unleashed in the Battle Against Inflammation - SciTechDaily - February 7th, 2025
- WNT11 Promotes immune evasion and resistance to Anti-PD-1 therapy in liver metastasis - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- The role of the behavioral immune system in the expression of short and long-term orientation in young Chilean men during the COVID-19 pandemic - BMC... - February 7th, 2025
- Harvard nutritionist eats these 5 foods to keep her 'immune system strong' and 'energy high' - CNBC - February 7th, 2025
- Micro Immune Response On-chip (MIRO) models the tumour-stroma interface for immunotherapy testing - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- Personalized Therapeutic Vaccine Steers the Immune System to Fight Kidney Cancer | Newswise - Newswise - February 7th, 2025
- Identification of m6A methyltransferase-related WTAP and ZC3H13 predicts immune infiltrates in glioblastoma - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- Serotonin attenuates tumor necrosis factor-induced intestinal inflammation by interacting with human mucosal tissue - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- Identification of the immune infiltration and biomarkers in ulcerative colitis based on liquidliquid phase separation-related genes - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- FLASH radiation reprograms lipid metabolism and macrophage immunity and sensitizes medulloblastoma to CAR-T cell therapy - Nature.com - February 7th, 2025
- Young Innovators: U of S researcher uses bat immune systems to find next generation therapies - Saskatoon Star-Phoenix - February 7th, 2025
- World Cancer Day 2025: Chronic stress, immune system, and cancer risk- How are these connected? - The Times of India - February 7th, 2025
- New research unlocks key to long-lasting immune response in cancer and chronic diseases - The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity - February 7th, 2025
- Microbial Dynamics and Immune Response to NTHi in COPD - Physician's Weekly - February 7th, 2025
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- The Surprising Connection Between Obesity, Parasites, and Your Immune System - SciTechDaily - January 27th, 2025
- Versatile 69p spice that boosts immune system can go in soups, smoothies and milk - Express - January 27th, 2025
- How the skins secret immune system could lead to needle-free vaccines - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance - January 27th, 2025
- Fevers link with a key kind of immunity is surprisingly ancient - Science News Magazine - January 27th, 2025
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- Opinion: Immune System And Ageing Why We Get More Vulnerable As We Age - ABP Live - January 27th, 2025
- 'Forever chemicals' (PFAS) may weaken immune function in children, leading to more frequent infections - U.S. Right to Know - January 27th, 2025
- Cellular Signals That Wreak Havoc in Sepsis are Revealed - LabRoots - January 27th, 2025
- New Combination Immunotherapy Targets Melanoma and Breast Cancer with Promising Results - Inside Precision Medicine - January 27th, 2025
- New Research in The Journal of Poultry Science: Trained Immunity Offers Novel Poultry Disease Prevention Strategies - PR Newswire - January 27th, 2025
- Scientists uncover how cancer cells hijack T-cells, making it harder for the body to fight back - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- MiNK Therapeutics Targets Immune Reconstitution to Combat - GlobeNewswire - January 27th, 2025
- Mitochondria may be a promising therapeutic target for inflammatory diseases - Medical Xpress - January 27th, 2025
- Explainer: What is Guillain-Barr Syndrome and how it affects the immune system - Mathrubhumi English - January 27th, 2025
- Yes, Some Vaccines Contain Aluminum. Thats a Good Thing. - The New York Times - January 27th, 2025
- You Are What You Eat? MD Breaks Down The Science Of The Gut Microbiome - mindbodygreen - January 27th, 2025
- Potential gamechanger: Researchers discover basis for immunotherapy-induced myocarditis - Healio - January 27th, 2025
- Ozempic and Wegovy may boost health, from addiction to dementia - BBC.com - January 27th, 2025
- Neutrophil diversity and function in health and disease - Nature.com - December 6th, 2024
- Harnessing the Power of the Immune System for Breast Cancer Treatment - Breast Cancer Research Foundation - December 6th, 2024
- Study Examines Neoantigen Landscapes and Their Role in Immunotherapy Efficacy - Consult QD - December 6th, 2024
- The 5 Best Teas to Support Your Immune System This Cold & Flu Season - EatingWell - December 6th, 2024
- Engineered immune cells may be able to tame inflammation - Medical Xpress - December 6th, 2024
- Hybrid model of tumor growth, angiogenesis and immune response yields strategies to improve antiangiogenic therapy - Nature.com - December 6th, 2024
- Opioids interfere with cancer immunotherapy, but another type of drug could help - Medical Xpress - December 6th, 2024
- RANKL cytokine restores thymus cells in old mice, reducing tumor growth and improving T cell immune response - Fierce Biotech - December 6th, 2024
- Predictive role of neutrophil percentage-to-albumin ratio, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic immune-inflammation index for mortality in... - December 6th, 2024
- Immuno-Oncology Strategic Industry Research Report 2023-2024 & 2030: Approval of Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and Nivolumab (Opdivo), which Target... - December 6th, 2024
- Study cracks the cold case of immunotherapy resistance - News-Medical.Net - December 6th, 2024
- New immune therapy improves survival and reduces tumor burden in glioblastoma - News-Medical.Net - December 6th, 2024
- Identification of immune-related hub genes and potential molecular mechanisms involved in COVID-19 via integrated bioinformatics analysis - Nature.com - December 6th, 2024
- Immune Cell Breakthrough: Scientists Discover a Hidden Ally in the Fight Against Cancer - SciTechDaily - December 6th, 2024
- Rising temperatures impact the immune system of wild monkeys - Earth.com - December 6th, 2024
- Study declaring Alzheimer's to be a "brain disease" proven to be fabricated - Earth.com - December 6th, 2024
- Warming temperatures impact immune performance of wild monkeys, U-M study shows - University of Michigan News - December 6th, 2024
- New study explores heart risks of cancer immunotherapy - News-Medical.Net - December 6th, 2024
- 'Incredible' way to boost your immune system naturally and ward of colds and flu this winter - The Mirror - December 6th, 2024
- Tis the Season to Boost Your Immune System - Mix93.3 - December 6th, 2024